THE 1968 FEDERAL BUDGET BOOK SIGNED BY LBJ AS PRESIDENT

LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1908-1973). Johnson served as the 36^th President.

Signed book. 475 pages. 1967. Washington. The 1968 budget signed “Lyndon B. Johnson” as President. Officially entitled The Budget of the United States Government For The Fiscal Year Ending June 30 1968 and published by the Government Printing Office, the budget is bound in three-quarter green leather with marbled-paper sides.  President Johnson signs his name on page 38 at the end of “Part 1 The Budget Message of the President”, and before the actual budget is presented. In this annual budget message, delivered on January 24, 1967, Johnson claims that “This budget for fiscal year 1968 reflects three basic considerations: In Vietnam, as throughout the world, we seek peace but will provide all the resources needed to combat aggression. In our urgent domestic programs we will continue to press ahead, at a controlled and reasoned pace. In our domestic economy we seek to achieve a 7th year of uninterrupted growth, adopting the fiscal measures needed to finance our expenditures responsibly, permit lower interest rates, and achieve a more balanced economy”. Referring to “hard choices” made in constructing the budget, it, for example, calls for a $21.9 billion military funding bill to Congress that would have brought the cost of the war to $46.2 billion. When the Defense appropriations were finally approved on September 20^th of that year, Congress reduced such spending by $1.6 billion. Given that Congress has not passed an annual budget by its mandated deadline since 1997, this document is a fascinating window into Federal finances at the twilight of the Johnson administration and a relic of a bygone congressional process. It is in excellent condition and a rare book signed by Johnson as the Commander In Chief.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SIGNS A LARGE COLOR PICTURE TO A FELLOW TEXAN, SENATOR JOHN TOWER

LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1908-1973). Lyndon Baines Johnson was the Thirty-Sixth President.

JOHN TOWER (1925-1991).  Tower was a Senator from Texas from 1961 to 1985.  He was the first Republican in that role since Reconstruction.

PS. 14” x 17”. No date. No place [Washington D. C.]  An oversized color photograph inscribed “To Senator John G. Tower with best wishes and regards Lyndon B. Johnson” on the lower margin.  Tower and Johnson had a complicated relationship.  In the 1960 Senate election from Texas, Johnson defeated Tower.  However, as Johnson was also elected Vice President in that election, Bill Blakely was Johnson’s appointed successor.  In a special election held in 1961 to fill Johnson’s seat, Tower defeated Blakley, and won re-election in 1966, 1972 and 1978.  When President Johnson tried to elevate Associate Justice Abe Fortas to Chief Justice, Senator Tower was severely opposed, believing that a lame-duck President should not have the right to change the Supreme Court.  Johnson’s autograph is on the lower mount and the overall condition is mint.  It is professionally framed.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SIGNS A LARGE PICTURE TO SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ABE FORTAS, WRITING “WHOM THERE IS NO BETTER”

LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1908-1973). Lyndon Baines Johnson was the Thirty-Sixth President.

PS. 9 ½” x 13 ½”. N.d. Washington D. C. A large photograph inscribed “To Abe Fortas than whom there is no better with love Lyndon B. Johnson”. The photo shows Johnson standing behind a chair in the White House. Johnson and Fortas’s relationship began in 1948 when Fortas victoriously represented him in a dispute over the controversial Texas Senate election.  In 1965, Johnson nominated Fortas to the Supreme Court.  He later tried to promote him to Chief Justice of the United States, which was unsuccessful due to a filibuster. They had an extremely close relationship, and the nomination was seen as Johnson trying to maintain his influence after leaving office. The next year, Fortas had to step down from the Supreme Court due to a financial scandal.  Johnson and Fortas had a very close relationship throughout their political careers, with this photograph and note being an example of that. This photograph is in very fine condition with professional framing.

A LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF JFK

JOHN F. KENNEDY (1917-1963). Kennedy was the Thirty-Fifth President.

Lithograph. 9 ½” x 13 ½”. No date. No place. A lithographic portrait of President John F. Kennedy by artist Robert Rogers. It is in fine condition.

AN ABRAHAM LINCOLN MILITARY COMMISSION FOR A SOLDIER WOUNDED AT ANTIETAM; HE WAS COMMISSIONED IN THE VETERANS RESERVE CORPS

ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809-1865).  Lincoln was the Sixteenth President.

DS. 1pg. August 1, 1864. Washington.  A vellum military commission signed “Abraham Lincoln” as President and co-signed “E.M. Stanton” as Secretary of War.  The President appointed James Wylie Crawford a First Lieutenant in the Veterans Reserve Corps.  Crawford (1832-1910) was from Maine; according to family lore, he was badly wounded at Antietam (I bought this directly from a descendant).  This injury required his enlistment in the Veterans Reserve Corps.  The Veterans Reserve Corps allowed wounded soldiers to remain active, often performing small tasks and light duty; established in the middle of 1863, it was first known as the Invalid Corps until the official name was changed.  The document recently underwent conservation with the vellum stretched and flattened; the top right corner of the vellum has shrunk and the document was once rolled.  The Lincoln autograph is a tad light and gets lighter as the autograph gets towards the conclusion; the Stanton is also a bit faint (but vellum does not hold ink that well, especially compared to paper).

OVERSIZED PHOTOGRAPH OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY SIGNED A MONTH BEFORE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII

WILLIAM McKINLEY (1843-1901). William McKinley was the Twenty-Fifth President, overseeing a period of American expansionism with the annexations of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and American Samoa and successfully leading the U.S. through the Spanish-American War. He served from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.

PS. 9 ½” x 14 ½”. June 6, 1898. N. p. A black and white photograph signed “William McKinley June 13 1898” during his presidency. The photo is a portrait of McKinley’s side profile and was signed just a month before the Newlands Resolution was passed into law, annexing the republic of Hawaii. This photograph is in very fine condition and professionally framed.  While there are other McKinley signed photographs in the marketplace, very few Presidential ones are this large size.